2. Contact Info

3. Dealer Selection

The first thing we need to draw your attention to is what is NOT included on the new 2.0-liter, 250-hp, turbo direct-injected version of the baby Buick Verano. There is no GS badging, or T-Type, or any other Buick boy-racer nomenclature. Also absent are great yawning grille openings to gobble up engine-intake and brake-cooling air. The urge to fit dubs with rubber-band-sidewall tires has also been resisted. Eagle-eyed observers will only find a tiny “T” badge, an ever-so-demur decklid lip spoiler, and dual exhaust outlets on the outside, with a set of brushed metal pedals as the only interior clue to the car’s added performance.

“Why no shifter paddles?” I asked, with the impertinence of one who had yet to fully grasp the intent of Buick‘s low-key approach. “Because we’re not trying to make this a sports car,” replied chief engineer Gary Altman, with the patience of someone who had answered this question more than once and will continue to do so during this day of brief off-the-record one-on-one drives with boy-racer media types. I finally get it. Buick has learned better than to write checks with gizmos and gewgaws that the chassis hardware isn’t prepared to cash. The Verano T is simply about giving customers a healthy dose of added power in the same comfortable riding, tidy parking, well-equipped package.

Perhaps the most surprising news is that, despite Altman’s not-a-sports-car protestations, the Verano T will be available with a six-speed manual transmission. And it’s not the Regal GS’ slightly notchy box, but rather a slicker-shifting GM-built unit not currently available in any other North American vehicles. Oh, and remember that cool No-Lift-Shift feature that debuted on the Cobalt SS (it keeps the turbo boiling and prevents over-revving while you clutch to swap cogs)? It’s here too, and using it is probably how you get that 6.2-second time.

How “healthy?” Try an extra 70 hp and 89 lb-ft, bringing the totals to an SAE-certified 250 hp at 5300 rpm and 260 lb-ft at 2000 rpm when running on premium fuel, which is recommended but NOT required, though performance drops slightly on regular. That rating subdivides those of this same engine in the Regal Turbo and GS (220 and 270 hp respectively), and, mounted in the nose of Buick’s lightest car, it’s said to capable of zipping to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds. If true, that’s 2.1 seconds quicker than our last Verano, and matches the performance of our quickest Regal GS (which they DID try to make into a sports car). Fuel economy figures aren’t finalized yet, but Buick expects to hit 30 mpg highway.

The turbo 2.0-liter weighs about 100 pounds more than the 2.4-liter, so the front suspension is stiffened to compensate (spring and damper rates are roughly 15-20 percent stiffer), while the rear tuning is unchanged. The rack-mounted electric steering-assist motor has been recalibrated to provide a stronger sense of on-center and a bit more heft under all circumstances, although the ratio remains unchanged. Also unchanged from the base car are the Continental ContiProContact 235/45R18 tires, although all Veranos get a slightly different inflation spec for 2013 (32 psi front/rear, up from 30/32). Hey, they hang on for 0.83 g of grip without howling in protest, and they whisper along quietly on the highway, so why throw all that out?

Other improvements to the Verano line include the addition of standard IntelliLink Sirius/XM stereo/info service, which also tethers to your smart phone via Bluetooth to provide fully integrated Pandora and Stitcher SmartRadio access through the head unit. The system is easily controllable via voice, touch-screen, or dedicated buttons — sort of the belt, suspenders, and Sansabelt approach. A rearview camera is now standard on all models, and Side Blind Zone Alert and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert is bundled in the convenience, leather and premium packages (all Verano Ts include the top premium-package).

Pricing won’t be available until closer to the Verano T’s fall on-sale date, but we’re promised it will undercut its closest competitor, the Acura ILX 2.4-liter, which rings in at $30,095 (and boasts just 201 hp). I’m not allowed to share my driving impressions until the final tuning is complete later this year, but I can tell you that the punch list of tuning tweaks I suggested was mighty short.

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